Most Emailed Articles

Charles Martel's grandson, also called Charles, would become one
of the most powerful figures of the early Middle Ages, bringing large
portions of present-day France and Germany under his rule. For this
he would become known as Charles the Great, Carolus Magnus, or
Charlemagne. For most of his reign he went by the title "King of the
Franks and Lombards," but after he helped Pope Leo III out of a
predicament, the pope crowned him "Emperor."